The BBC’s Bashir was tricked by Princess Diana for an interview

An independent ask It was discovered that the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) “did not meet its high standards of integrity and transparency”, and reporter Martin Bashir acted in a “deceptive” manner to ensure his 1995 explosive interview With Princess Diana.

This famous Panorama Interview This was the first time that members of the royal family talked frankly about their lives, and Diana did not flinch at all.

She said that the royal life put her into a situation of gluttony and self-harm. No one in the royal family helped her, but instead abandoned her behavior and branded her “unstable”. She admitted to having an affair with riding coach James Hewitt. She talked about the relationship between Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles, who was estranged from her husband, and she famously said: “This marriage has three of us, so it’s a bit crowded.”

She also expressed doubts about Charles’s ability as king, and doubted whether she would become the queen of the country, and said she would “want to be the queen of people’s hearts.”

More than 20 million people watched the consequences of this interview, which was shocking.it stable Diana (Diana), as a victim of injustice in an autocratic monarchy, has a place in the eyes of the public. torpedo The monarchy, especially the public opinion of the Charles monarchy. Moreover, shortly after the broadcast, the Queen ordered Charles and Diana, who had been separated for more than two years, to officially divorce.

But when November 2, 2020A few weeks before the 25th anniversary of the interview, the Daily Mail published a letter from Diana’s brother Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer, accusing the BBC of “absolutely “Dishonest” and unethical behind-the-scenes methods to ensure the safety of the interview.

After making a public speech, the BBC launched an independent investigation into the situation of the interview.

According to this inquiry, the results of the investigation were announced on Thursday. Bashir “deceived” Earl Spencer with false information to obtain an introduction to his royal sister, who then used the latter to get her to agree to an interview.Then, when this information was first exposed, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) investigated how [Bashir] Ensure the appropriateness of the interview and the methods he used. “

In order to gain the trust of Earl Spencer, Bashir “commissioned” an unsuspecting BBC graphic artist to produce bank documents, which seemed to indicate that his former employee had been paid by a newspaper group. The report also pointed out that Bashir created another bank statement, which seems to indicate that Diana’s two current senior assistants are being paid by the same newspaper group (meaning these payments are for the sale of private information to tabloids). After the meeting, Bashir showed these documents to Earl Spencer, and then he introduced the reporter to his royal sister.

The former judge who conducted the investigation, Lord Dyson, wrote: “By contacting Princess Diana in this way, Mr. Bashir persuaded her to agree to an interview.”

An interviewer said that shortly after the interview was first aired, the graphic designer who produced the forged documents was worried about how to use the documents and contacted senior BBC management. The Guardian’s Story Released on April 8, 1996-in Sent on sunday News broke out about the existence of forged documents and accused the BBC of conducting “secret, cunning and misleading exercises” to ensure the safety of the interview.

The BBC conducted an internal investigation and eventually cleared Bashir and Panorama, Found that the document was “never” used to get the princess to agree to an interview.

But Lord Dyson in his report description The internal investigation of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) showed that it was “seriously ineffective”. He said that Bashir had repeatedly lied to his superiors about the circumstances under which he was interviewed, and in many other respects, the BBC did not interview Earl Spencer, but “accepted Bashir. The statement Mr. Hill gave them is true.”

Lord Dyson said: “The BBC covered up in the news log the facts that could determine how Bashir was interviewed, and I am satisfied with that.”

The interview itself was conducted in secret; the Palace Press Relations Team did not know this until it was recorded, and only a small part of the BBC knew of its existence until Panorama The broadcast time of the episode has been set. (This Chairman of the BBC At the time, it was reported that Marmaduke Hussey was “extremely dissatisfied” with the network’s executives without telling him in advance.

The time of the interview is also very important.In her biography Queen Elizabeth: The life of a modern monarch, Historian Sally Bedell Smith wrote that Diana “quite deliberately” waited until Prince Charles’ birthday on November 14 to inform the palace that she was going to appear in court. Panorama -The interview itself was broadcast on November 20, the 48th anniversary of the birth of the Queen and Prince Philip.

Despite the “deceptive” behind-the-scenes operations, Lord Dyson concluded that when Diana was first introduced to Bashir, he was still “enthusiastic about the idea of ​​television interviews” and “may agree to accept interviews with anyone.” “An experienced and reputable reporter, even under the intervention of Mr. Bashir, she is full of confidence. “

Lord Dyson said: “Regardless of her future reservations, Princess Diana is happy with the interview at the time.”

in a statement, Bashir, retires from the position of religious editor of the BBC last week, Apologized for forging documents, but insisted that “these documents have nothing to do with Princess Diana’s personal choice to participate in the interview.” He also provided the investigation with Diana’s handwritten notes, saying that he did not show her “anything”. File, also not provided[n] Any information I didn’t realize before. “

The current chairman of the BBC, Richard Sharp, said that the company “accepted” the report’s findings “unreservedly”, and current director general Tim Davie also expressed his views. .

David said: “Although the report points out that Diana, Princess of Wales, is eager to be interviewed by the BBC, it is clear that the process of ensuring that the interview falls far short of the audience’s expectations.” “Despite the BBC today. There are significantly better processes and procedures, but the processes and procedures that existed at the time should have prevented the security of interviews in this way.”

“Although the BBC cannot turn back the clock after a quarter of a century, we can make a full and unconditional apology. The BBC provided this today.”

The BBC reported that the company has sent personal letters of apology to Diana’s son, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Doyle Spencer.

On Thursday, Earl Spencer said that he believed that if his sister disagreed with Bashir’s interview, her sister might still be alive. He said that his reporting strategy convinced Diana that she couldn’t believe the people around her.

He said that Bashir was “very good at deepening people’s worries” and made people think that he would “save you in a difficult and dangerous world.”

“She didn’t know who to trust. In the end, when she died two years later, she didn’t have any form of real protection.”